Google honors sculptor Edmonia Lewis with new Doodle

UPI News Service, 02/07/2017

Google is celebrating the life and career of notable African American and Native American sculptor Edmonia Lewis with a new Doodle.

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Google's homepage features artwork depicting Edmonia hard at work on her most famous piece, The Death of Cleopatra which is on display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. The Google logo is colored vibrantly as a homage to her Native American name, Wildfire.

Lewis' journey began at Oberlin College at age 15 where she became passionate about art but was unable to complete her degree due to the discrimination she faced.

It was then that she moved to Boston to pursue a career in sculpting. "She was consistently denied apprenticeship until she met Edward A. Brackett, a sculptor whose clients included some of the most well-known abolitionists of the time," Google stated.

"Lewis worked under Brackett until 1864, when she launched her first solo exhibition. Her work paid homage to the abolitionists and Civil War heroes of her day, including John Brown and Colonel Robert Gould Shaw. Her work was very well received and with her success, she traveled to Rome, Italy," they continued.

Lewis would then go onto establish her own studio, sculpt using marble to pay homage to her African American and Native American roots and acquire more acclaim until her death in 1911.

"Decades later, Lewis's legacy continues to thrive through her art and the path she helped forge for women and artists of color. Today, we celebrate her and what she stands for - self-expression through art, even in the face of adversary," the internet giant noted.

Lewis' life journey and displays of her work is also featured now in Google's Arts & Culture section.